Maxwell Wildlife Refuge near Canton, Kansas
is home to one of the few surviving wild buffalo herds. As of January 2016
there were about 20 buffalo and 85 elk on the refuge. Each fall there is
an auction of surplus buffalo.

It began in 1859, when a small herd of buffalo were driven
into the area around the Maxwell homestead. The Maxwell family wanted
to preserve a piece of prairie, with a roaming herd of buffalo, for future
generations and in 1943, the Henry Maxwell estate donated 2,560 acres of
land to the Kansas Forestry, Fish, and Game Commission for the creation
of the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge dedicated to bison and other prairie species.

Public access to the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge includes
occasional tram tours, horse back rides in spring & fall (must have
own horse) and the 50 year old observation tower where some of these photos
were taken. Special events at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge include the Prairie
Days festival on the first weekend in June, and the Mountain Man Rendezvous
on the Prairie on the first Friday and Saturday of October.

Fishing and primitive camping are available at nearby
McPherson State Fishing Lake.

Tram tours

Observation Tower at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge

View from the Observation Tower

Calves have a reddish, light brown coat and lack the distinctive hump
of the adult bison,
starting to turn brown and develop the hump after a few months.

Although many people call them buffalo, the correct name is american
bison (Bison bison)